Vanilla Bean Plants — How to Grow, Harvest & Enjoy Home-Grown Vanilla With Ease!!!!
Vanilla, or Vanilla planifolia, is a vining orchid native to Mexico and is one of the most highly sought after spices in cultivation. Vanilla has become a mainstay flavoring and essence in the world of culinary and perfumes. Today, vanilla is grown mostly for commercial production in Madagascar, Reunion Island, Comoro Islands, Indonesia and Mexico.
The Aztecs first used vanilla for flavoring in cocoa. The long vanilla bean pods were dried and cured to produce its distinctive flavor. Today, the pods are sometimes used whole and the flavoring is drawn out by infusion or the pods are split and the tiny seeds are scraped out. You may have seen tiny seeds infused in creams or custard based dishes such as Crème Brûlée. Here at Nature Touch Farms, we feature an all-green Vanilla Vine (Vanilla planifolia) that produces the vanilla bean much coveted by bakers. It is also available as a more colorful, variegated specimen, Vanilla planifolia variegata which will soon be available at Nature Touch Farms.
Tips for Growing Vanilla Plants at Home
Vanilla bean plants are climbing vines that prefer high humidity, warm temperatures and bright, indirect sunlight. Growing vanilla in your garden, shade house or greenhouse can be fun; however, a bit more effort is required than with other house plants. If you follow the suggestions below, and can provide the right growing conditions, you’ll soon be growing your own vanilla bean plants at home, too!
- Vanilla Bean — Growing Habit
The Vanilla orchid grows wild in tropical forests and comes from one of the oldest plant families (Orchidaceae). Ninety-five percent of the world’s vanilla bean trade comes from one species, Vanilla planifolia. The vine can reach up to 30 meters(98 feet) long and the pods form in bean-like clusters. Because the vanilla bean plant is a slow-growing vine, it needs a stake or trellis to climb on. For example, below is a vanilla bean plant growing indoors on a wooden support.
• Vanilla Bean Plants — Grown in the Jungle
Once Vanilla orchids vine up tree trunks, over time the roots will head downward to the ground and bury themselves in the loose soil and litter where they act more like a terrestrial orchid. Root hairs appear on the once smooth roots and they uptake water and food from the substrate.
• Vanilla Bean Plants — Container Grown
Vanilla plants make excellent container house plants when grown as a vine, because this type of orchid is both epiphytic and semi-terrestrial. This means it lives above the ground where its roots attach to tree trunks or other support from which it takes in water and nutrients. In growing a Vanilla vine in a pot, some support is needed for the vine to climb on and attach itself to. This can be a post or slab of wood, preferably a type that does not rot easily like cedar or cypress.
- Vanilla Bean Plant Light Requirements
Vanilla plants prefer good bright light but not hot, noonday sun. However, they won’t grow well or flower in deep shade so partial sun is what they need. - Temperature Requirements
Vanilla grows best in warm temperatures, preferably in the 70’s to 90’s. Cooler temperatures will slow down the growth. Keep temperatures above 60˙F for the most part. - Potting Mix
It’s preferable to use sphagnum moss or coco-chip orchid medium or an orchid potting mix. All of these mixes help aerate the roots and give proper drainage. - Watering a Vanilla Bean Plant
When watering, the support and the soil media are watered so the air roots as well as the potting mix have access to moisture. Generally, the potting mix is allowed to dry a little between waterings to help avoid root diseases. - When to Fertilize a Vanilla Plant
Vanilla orchids benefit from regular applications of fertilizer. A balanced plant fertilizer is recommended using a dilute solution at every other watering during the summer months. Even a constant fertilizer regime (used with each watering) with dilute levels of nutrients can improve growth (use ¼ tsp/ gal of a 7–9–5 formula). Be sure to occasionally leach the potting media with clear water to avoid fertilizer salt build-up. We have also found it beneficial to supplement with Jamaican Organics Soja Grow & Ripnr, a spray that is used to enhance the growth and blossoming of the orchids and to prolong flowering. It contains many micro-nutrients that keep orchids healthy. - Flowering a Vanilla Bean Plant
Once the vanilla bean plant has matured, it will begin to flower. The beautiful orchid-like flowers last one day and need to be hand pollinated to produce the vanilla bean:
Flowering the Vanilla vine takes a bit of time and patience. Although the flowers are slightly fragrant, it is the vanilla bean pod that follows flowering that is the prize. Plants that are grown in a container need a support and the vine needs to reach a height of 3–5 feet. Using a clay pot of 12 inches or more will give your orchid size, stability and also a healthy root system. Be sure to have excellent drainage with a porous potting mix and drainage hole in the bottom of the pot.
The vining stem is then tied to the support to begin its upward growth. Keep it in warm temperatures and bright light. The vine should be encouraged to climb and tied to the support as needed. Offshoots will occur, especially when there is a bend in the stem, and these should also be tied to the support. In time, the support will become covered with vines (this adds up to many feet of vine) and once they reach the top and start to hang off the support, then flowering will begin.
What initiates bloom is somewhat variable. It is thought that a dry period for a couple of months in the winter, as well as the vine reaching the top of the support and cascading off stimulates the flowering process. The blooms appear on flowering spikes that emerge at the leaf axis along the stems and many blooms will emerge from this spike over a period of weeks, usually one at a time and each flower lasts only one day. To produce vanilla beans, the flowers need to be hand pollinated, which is easily done with a toothpick.
• Disease and Insects
The greatest challenge as far as diseases and insects is root rot from over watering. Slugs and snails can also chew on roots and young leaves.
- Growing Vanilla Beans at Home — Summary
Overall, Vanilla is a rewarding, and at the same time challenging, plant to grow. Once established, vanilla bean plants can grace your gardens with their beauty for years. Cultivate your own vanilla bean plants for their aromatic and intoxicating spices, which can then be used to deliciously flavor ice cream, coffee drinks, and baked goods.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- How Long Does A Vanilla Bean Plant Takes To Produce
The best way to bring vanilla home is to buy a potted plant or cutting of V. planifolia. Large cuttings (24 to 36 inches) can root and flower in just 2 to 3 years. Smaller cuttings will take longer, likely 3 to 4 years. In general, vanilla begins to flower when the vine diameter reaches 0.25 to 0.5 inches.
- How Long Does It Take From Flowering To Maturity?
Vanilla bean production is certainly not for the impatient. Once the plants flower, they must be hand pollinated. Successfully pollinated flowers will produce a bean that takes about 9 months to mature. The four-step curing process takes another few months. It is a long process but for the dedicated gardener it can be a rewarding one.
- How To Cure Vanilla Bean Pods?
Once ripe, the four stages of curing can begin.
- Stage 1: Dipping. No more than three days after harvest, the beans are plunged into water heated to 150–170 degrees Fahrenheit from 10 seconds to three minutes. …
- Stage 2: Sweating. …
- Stage 3: Drying. …
- Stage 4: Conditioning. …
- Perfection.
Learn more detailed information about Vanilla Bean Curing here → https://cooksvanilla.com/the-art-of-curing-vanilla-beans/
- How Many Vanilla Bean Pods Can You Get From One Vanilla Plant?
The final number of vanilla bean pods per vine varies greatly and is usually about 30–150. Vanilla grows best under filtered sunlight. It flourishes well in partial shade that cuts out about 50% sunlight. Since it is a climbing vine, it requires support for growing.
- How Do You Get Vanilla Bean Plants To Grow Faster?
Vanilla Bean Plants grows best in warm temperatures, preferably in the 70’s to 90’s. Cooler temperatures will slow down the growth. Keep temperatures above 60˙F for the most part. It’s preferable to use sphagnum moss or coco-chip orchid medium or an orchid potting mix.
- How Many Times Can I Reuse My Vanilla Bean Pods To Make Extract?
You can reuse vanilla beans for extract more than once, which makes them a gift that keeps on giving. Once you’ve created your first batch of vanilla extract, feel free to reuse them in the next batch. For added flavor, you can add additional fresh beans to the new batch.
- Why Are Vanilla Bean Pods Hard To Grow?
The cultivation of vanilla is extremely labor-intensive. The plants themselves don’t even start producing vanilla beans until after three years. When they finally do bloom, the flowers only stay open for one day and have to be carefully pollinated within 12 hours of blooming.
- How Do I Get My Vanilla Bean Plants To Bloom?
Make sure that the Vanilla Bean Plant gets sunlight during the day and darkness at night. This plays a huge role in the proper blooming of Vanilla orchids. Be sure to fertilize your orchid with 20–20–20 fertilizer or use a combination of Jamaican Organics Soja Grow & Ripnr once every month. Cut back on fertilization to every six months when the orchid grows more slowly.
- What Is The Lifespan Of A Vanilla Bean Plant?
The vanilla plant produces flowers on short racemes, each possessing 6–15 flowers, and fruits which take the form of narrow, cylindrical pods (or beans), each possessing many small black seeds. The vanilla plant can reach a height of 10–15 m (33–49 ft) in height and has an economic lifespan of approximately 10 years.
- Where Can I Get Vanilla Bean Plants To Buy In Jamaica?
Nature Touch Farms is your source for buying rare plants and fruit trees. Our online selection of rainforest tropicals, exotic fruit trees and fruit trees can bring the tropics to your back yard, greenhouse or garden.
Check out our wide selection of other tropical plants, subtropical plants and temperate climate plants at our website.
Our Vanilla Bean Plants are grown without the use of chemical pesticides, fungicides & synthetic fertilizers. Purchase your Vanilla Bean Plants at https://www.farmlinkr.com/product/245657/vanilla-bean-plant-sold-per-plant
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